Henry
Northern & Central Europe, circa 1510-1530
Between 1512 and 1513, Henry VIII ordered 7,000 'almain rivets' from Florence and Milan for his army, so named due to the design's provenance from the Almain region, now part of Germany. He didn't need a beautiful army clad in exquisite white harness - he needed a horde of violent men in fighting armour.
Our reproduction of this iconic armour stays as faithful to the originals as possible in terms of proportions, materials and finish. We have used the extant harness at Winchester as the basis for this product. The set includes breastplate, backplate, tassets, splint arms and a proto-burgonet but each part can also be purchased separately.
This armour can be used to represent English troops in the early 16th century though this style and type was common on the continent, particularly across the Holy Roman Empire, Italy and France.
Price: £2,500
Henry Breastplate
Our ‘Henry’ breastplate is based on the iconic, 16th century almain rivet at the Westgate Museum in Winchester. This is the sort of armour worn by both the Scots and English at Flodden, the infamous Landsknechts at the sack of Rome and battle of Pavia and dragged Henry VIII’s sailors to the bottom of the Solent when the Mary Rose sank.
As plate armour became more available, these were hammered out in their thousands and sent all across Europe to monarchs and mercenaries alike.
The price includes the breastplate and tassets. A backplate is available for an additional £400.
Source:
Westfield Museum Almain Rivet, Winchester
Price: £1,200
Henry Proto-Burgonet
This proto-burgonet or casquetelle forms part of our 16th century almain rivet harness. It’s based on a couple of extant examples in Wade Allen’s collection.
The peak (fall) is wide-brimmed, similar to some Roman helmets. This pivots down to pin the cheek pieces in place, folding centrally in a similar way to an armet. This was the beginning of the mechanics seen with Burgonets for the next century.
Source:
Wade Allen Collection: A-182 and A-270
Price: £600
Henry Splint Arms
These are based on the pair seen with the Winchester almain rivet at the Westfield museum. Featuring retractable hand plates, these marked a pivotal point in providing the standard infantryman with arm protection as part of a more complete munitions-grade harness.
Source:
Westfield Museum Almain Rivet, Winchester